Crossing Worlds
by A.I.T. - Author In Training
Summary: It's time to get Sydney unShadowed. Kairi, Cody, and Sydney journey to The Land of the Dead together. Along the way they go through some pretty bad experiences. Being Shadowed is definitely not the best thing to be.
1. Explanations Are Due

**1. Explanations Are Due**

Sydney POV

When I woke up again, Joe was gone. Instead some chic that looked sort of familiar was sitting in his chair. She sat up and smiled when she saw that I was awake.

"Hiya!" She exclaimed.

I sat up. "Who are you?"

She frowned. "Joe did say your memory was a little off."

"Wha-" Then I realized who she was. "You're Kairi, the chic that jumped me in that ally."

Kairi looked confused. "Jumped you?" She shook her head. "No, I Shadowed you, and believe me, when you find out about that, you'll wish I jumped you. You see…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if reciting from memory. "You died in Greece. You weren't supposed to die so, Death made me bring you back. The only way to do that is to Shadow someone. To unShadow you, so you can continue to live normally, I have to take you to the Spirit Realm so Death himself can unShadow you."

I held up my hand to stop her. "Stop. You've barely said four sentences and I'm already confused. First, if I wasn't supposed to die, why did Death kill me, or take my soul, or whatever?" I waved my hand in the air.

"He didn't. Death is the boss, he is _The_ Grim Reaper. He has minor Reapers that go around and ferry the souls to the other side. The Reaper saw what you were doing and took your soul without consulting his list."

"What the heck is a list?"

"Every Reaper has a list. Reapers are in charge of a certain area for a certain time. The list tells them who's going to die in that area and when. Reapers have to follow that list or…" She stopped. "You don't want to know. Death noticed that the Reaper who took your soul had one extra soul with him when he turned them in at the end of his shift. Death didn't know what to do at first, 'cause you're a goddess and he hates you guys because of your immortality. If he kept you though, it could've thrown a lot of deaths out of line. So, he had to bring you back. Death can't do that himself because he's too busy. So he has his Returners, which are people like me, the ones he brought back from the dead, do it for him."

I nodded. I think I was getting this. "Okay, so what's the Spirit realm?"

"The Spirit realm is one of five realms branching off from the Underworld. It is the Realm where Returners take Reversers, or Shadowed people, to be unShadowed by Death himself. If the Shadowed person doesn't get there in time-" She froze and gave me a sympathetic look. "Well, we just have to get you there soon. You've been Shadowed for over a month now. It's amazing nothing has happened to you yet. We have to get you there soon. And I mean _now_ soon."

"So, why can't I remember anything from when I was Shadowed?"

Kairi shrugged. "That was a pretty big explosion you caused. You released the Shadow from your aura, it's a miracle really. But the Shadow isn't gone and it will come back. Being in its realm won't help much either."

"Well, what happened when I was possessed, or whatever?"

Kairi winced. "A lot. You are powerful, and the Shadow loves that. When you were evil it was… terrifying. It was like you knew what you were doing, and you were enjoying it." She switched back to her perky self. This chic definitely had some bi-polar issues. "But everything will be alright soon!"

I looked down and took a deep breathe. I stared into Kairi's fiery red eyes. "Tell me everything that happened."

And she did. Every last detail.

I sat back. Stupid, stupid amnesia. "Why can't I remember any of this? This all happened to me! I should at least remember most of this."

Kairi looked at me. "Well, like I said before, it was a powerful explosion, and you were in the center of it, and the Shadow does have that effect sometimes. Besides, it's not like you don't remember anything at all.

"It feels like it." I crossed my arms. I hated feeling helpless. "So how much longer do we have to stay here?"

"Until the doctors say you can leave."

I scoffed and sat up.

"What are you doing?" She looked at me nervously.

"If you think I'm staying here, you don't know me at all." I snapped my fingers and green mist filled the room.

"Wha… what?" I covered her mouth to hide her scream as we warped to Draylon.

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Alright, finally posting this! :D This story was a whirlwind of emotions to write. BTW: check my profile for NEW info on the musical. So, what do you think? Review!


	2. Let's Go Already

**2. Let's Go Already**

Kairi POV

Sydney stumbled when we landed and had to use me to keep her balance, which I didn't think she was happy about. I looked at her. "I told you we shouldn't have left until the doctors okayed it."

"And that's exactly why I had to leave. You _told_ me to stay." She smirked.

"Even when your life depends on it, you still disobey." I looked around. Who the heck was that? I looked at Syd, who was smiling.

"I wouldn't exactly say my life depended on it." She stopped leaning on me and turned around. I turned around too. I frowned when I saw who had spoken. Cody, Sydney's boyfriend. After my visit with Joe, I _so_ wasn't happy for them anymore. Cody had sandy brown hair, tan skin, and dark brown eyes. He was what most girls considered to be hot. Cody smiled and walked up to us. He gave Sydney a hug and when they broke apart they kissed. Ugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Aww, yay! Happy reunion." I said sarcastically. "Now, you should have taken us to the Spirit realm. In case you forgot, bad things are gonna happen if we don't get you unShadowed."

Cody looked at Sydney, a concerned look on his face. He wrapped his arm around her waist. Sydney leaned into him. Mostly for support considering she was still having trouble standing. "What's she talking about? And who is she?" He looked back at me, eyeing me suspiciously.

Sydney didn't even look at me, but waved her hand over me instead, like I would disappear or something. "She's not important." They smiled at each other.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm the most important person to you right now. You can't get unShadowed without me. And like I said, bad things are gonna happen if you don't." I crossed my arms. "Now, come on. We need to go, now." I tapped my foot impatiently.

Cody stared at Sydney. "Bad things?"

Sydney shrugged. "Yeah, apparently it's too gruesome to talk about."

"It is! I swear!"

Sydney looked at me, "Kairi, something tells me it doesn't take much to gross you out."

I stood up straight, "I'm braver than I look. Now come on, let's go!" I stamped my foot with impatience.

"Calm down Miss Impatience. We'll go when I feel like it." She rolled her eyes.

"You should feel like it now."

"And just for that, I'm docking our leave for a week."

She was getting on my nerves. I couldn't even tell if this was her or the shadow acting up. I had a feeling it was the former.

"Maybe you should listen to her, Babe. Do you even know anything about what's going on?" Cody asked with concern.

"Of course," Sydney spoke at the same time I said, "No."

Sydney looked at me again. "You explained it all to me in the hospital, remember?"

"No, I explained what had happened with you in the hospital. I didn't tell you anything about being Shadowed, the Spirit Realm, Death, or even how this will all happen!"

"Well that's your fault."

"We don't have time for this!"

"How much time do we have?"

"Judging by what just happened, I'd give you five days, at most. Your hair is already turning dirty blonde and it's grown at least two inches."

Sydney looked at her hair and stepped towards me. "Alright we'll leave now, if it will shut you up."

"I wanna come too." Cody reached forward and grabbed her hand.

Sydney looked at him. "Cody, you-"

"I have to." He smiled at her.

Sydney looked at me. "Kairi?"

I shook my head. "He can't. He's alive and not Shadowed." Not to mention I didn't really want him to come.

Sydney looked back at Cody. "Cody-"

"Sydney, I want to go with you."

Sydney sighed and looked at me. "Kairi, he's stubborn, and trust me, he won't give up until he gets a yes."

"Is that how he got you to go out with him?"

Sydney nodded.

"Hey!"

"Well…"

"Alright fine. He can come." I sighed. This was going to be an awful trip. "But if anything happens to him, it's not my fault." Most likely.

Sydney smiled at me. "So where do we go?"

"I believe the Latin translation is Terra of Silenti etc." Kairi said.

"Okay then. Off we go." Sydney snapped her fingers. Green mist curled around us and in a blink, we were gone.


	3. Welcome to Your Nightmare

**3. Welcome to Your Nightmare**

"Welcome to The Land of the Dead." The trio gazed at the scene before them.

The sky was blood red, the clouds were black, and there was an ominous feeling that everything could collapse in a matter of seconds. There was no beauty or life in sight. Dead plants, wilted flowers, and bones littered the ground. Faint wisps of smoke twisted in and out of a dark smoke that surrounded them. Spirits, lost in their own world. Soft shrieks and whines were heard coming from every dark crevice. There was no smell, except for death. Everything had lost its lifelike characteristics. The entire world was made with terrors so frightening, that creatures so horrific even the most creative of minds couldn't fathom of would be terrified. It achieved this all marvelously.

"Aren't we supposed to be in The Spirit Realm?" Sydney questioned.

"The Spirit Realm is one of five branches that breach off of The Land of the Dead, remember?" Kairi flicked her eyes over to Sydney. "We have to travel through all this," she waved her arms out, "until we find the gate to enter it through."

"And where exactly is the gate?" Cody asked, stepping away from the view.

"I don't know." Kairi shrugged and looked back.

"You don't know? What happened to getting this… thing out of me?" Sydney exclaimed.

"The Shadow will tell us where to go. You just have to be quiet and tell us what it says. Quickly please. The longer you stay here like this, the worse. Plus, all the gates are constantly moving, they have a mind of their own, most things here do."

"Well, how?"

"You should be able to figure it out! Apparently you know everything!"

"What are you going off about?"

"Figure it out!"

Sydney glared at her. "What the hell? Ten seconds ago you were eager to get this whole thing started, now we're here, you have no idea where to go or how we're supposed to get there, and you're yelling at me? Make up your mind already!"

"No!"

Sydney stared at her. "No? What do you mean no? Now you're not even making sense! God, I have had it with you! Isn't it your fault I'm like this anyway? Urgh!" She stomped off down a path to their right.

"Sy-" Cody began, but Kairi grabbed him and held him back.

"Where do you think you're going?" She was smiling.

"What are you smiling about? You're lucky I don't punch you after what you just did."

"Oh calm down, I love Syd. I just needed to get her mad."

"Why?"

"The Shadow feeds off of anger. She would not get that angry that fast if she wasn't Shadowed. I doubt she even knows where she's going, but the Shadow does. It's taking her to The Spirit Realm. We just have to follow her."

"You pissed her off, so we could follow her?"

Kairi shrugged. "Had to be done. It's the only way the Shadow will lead us to where we're going. Don't worry she'll cool down in a little bit. I didn't get her mad enough to have the Shadow completely take over, trust me, you do not want to see that. It's… bad…" Kairi shuddered at the memory. "The worst part is, we're going to have to do this to her a lot."

"What? You can't be serious."

"Sorry, and don't think I'm gonna do this every time, you're going to have to do it a couple times too."

"No thank you. She's my girlfriend. I'm not gonna risk pissing her off."

"Oh so you won't be able to make out for an hour. You'll survive."

"You hate me, don't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah," she wasn't completely joking. "Just don't tell her what we're doing if she figures it out, then the Shadow will figure it out and we'll never get there." Kairi looked where Sydney had just left. "We should probably follow her before we lose her."

Cody nodded, "Alright. Are you sure about all of this? I mean, you do know what we're doing right?"

Kairi nodded and smiled, "Duh! Why wouldn't I? I've been living in this world for almost seven hundred years. Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long. That makes me really old I guess, huh? But that's pretty cool, cause I know more stuff than anyone else will. Well, anyone except who's been like me for that amount of time or longer."

Cody gave her a blank stare, "Wh- what?"

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Oops. I forgot you're completely clueless about this stuff. I'll tell you about it when we catch up to Syd, she still needs to learn half this stuff anyway. Besides it's really confusing. We really should get going now." Kairi started down the path. Cody shook off his confusion and trailed after her.

"Can you at least tell me what's wrong with Sydney? I really care about her and this seems serious."

Kairi was about to say how sweet that was, but caught herself at the last minute and sighed instead, "She's Shadowed. She died before she was supposed to. I had to bring her back. To do that, I Shadowed her. She has to get to Death before it's too late so he can unShadow her. She should be fine after that."

"Should be?"

"That's what happens most of the time."

"What?"

"I told you, this stuff is complicated."

Cody sighed, "So, what exactly is the Shadow?"

"I'll tell you when we find Syd. She doesn't even know this stuff yet. Now come on, we have to hurry."

"How long do we have to follow her?" Cody asked.

"Until she cools down."

"And that will be…?"

"I don't know."

Cody sighed. This would never end.

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**Action in the next chapter guys, I promise. Review!**


	4. The Shadow Strikes

**4. The Shadow Strikes**

Sydney POV

I felt my nails dig into the palms of my hands. I knew it would scar. What the hell was wrong with Kairi? She was being so bipolar! One minute she wants to get her little ass here and now she has no idea where to go! I walked faster the angrier I got. The fact that she was even trying to tell me what to do in the first place shows the girl is just stupid! I kept glancing over my shoulder hoping to see Cody trailing behind me, but every time I looked he wasn't there. That pissed me off even more. I kicked at a rock sitting near by. It flew off into the shadows and a high pitched shriek followed. I froze. No normal thing could have made a sound like that. It was the combination of a woman giving birth and a hawk diving at its prey. Everything was quiet. I suddenly missed the moans of the lost souls and whispers of the unknown. The black shadows swirled around me. I felt a breeze behind me and I spun to look. Nothing. I was surrounded by darkness. What happened to the path? I didn't even know where I was going, but anything was better than this. I looked left and right, desperate to find a way out. I felt the darkness closing in, suffocating me. A sharp pain split my skull. I fell to my knees, clutching my head. I took shallow, shaky breathes. This was not right. What was happening? Another stab of pain, this time right at my heart. I gasped. Oh god.

Kairi POV

I sighed, "No."

"Come on, anything?" Cody begged.

"No!" God, he was annoying. What did Syd see in him? He'd been bugging me about what was happening for five minutes straight. If I was the violent type, I would've smacked him by now. Lucky, for him, I'm not.

Cody opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by an ear-splitting screech. My eyes burned red for half a second. I snapped my head in the direction the sound had come from.

"What the-" Another screech, this time it didn't seem to end.

I grabbed Cody's wrist, "Come on!" We sped down the path towards the horrid screams. "Please no, oh god no." I froze.

"Sydney!" Cody ran forward to her. I tackled him down.

"Stay here!"

Sydney was on her knees shaking and mumbling to herself, "Stop, stop, stop…" I could see a soft, black mist curling around her on the ground. Her hair had turned brown and had grown another inch or two. She looked awful. "Make it stop. Please, go away. Go away, please. Make it stop. Make it stop."

"Sydney!" I shoved Cody's face in the ground.

"Shh!"

Sydney's head snapped up, her eyes wide open. They were solid black, not a fleck of white, blue, or green visible. The veins around her eyes were turning black and you could tell they were spreading. I shivered. This was bad, really bad.

I jumped off Cody and ran to her. I picked up a decent sized bone. "Sorry, Syd. I really don't want to do this." I took a deep breathe and hit her in the back of the head.

Sydney feinted at my feet.

I stepped back.

"Sydney!" Cody ran over. I held him back.

"Don't touch her!"

"But-"

"Don't!"

"What the hell just happened?"

I sighed, "Demon's breathe."

"What?"

"Sydney must've done something to make a demon mad. When that happens, they exhale a toxin designed to kill. The Shadow, however, probably didn't want her to die, again, so it fought back. I'm guessing that it caused a lot of pain for her. Most Reversers never see the Shadow, but I've heard that it's a frightening thing to see. Almost impossible to describe. So, I had to knock her out to protect her. It was the only way to save her. She'll wake up soon and be fine. If I hadn't knocked her out, she would've just kept sitting there, rocking back and forth, knees to her chest, mumbling. God knows for how long. A lot of people can stay shell-shocked like that for days, years even. The only person that can knock them out, would are Death, whoever Shadowed the person in the first place, or the Shadow itself. "

He stared at me with blank eyes. "I didn't understand half of that."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you wouldn't." I planned to keep him as much in the dark as possible. He had no need to know this stuff.

"How would the Shadow knock her out?"

"The Shadow has been known to take on many forms. It's possible for it to personify itself and escape her mind and soul, if it so chooses."

"So why can't I touch her?"

"Demon's breathe may still be lingering. You don't have anything to protect you from it, so you'll die. No big loss for me, but Sydney wouldn't like it."

Cody cast I quick glance at me. I didn't care. I don't lie. It's wrong. Sydney moaned and rolled on her side. Cody jerked and I had to hold him back again. Was he really so stupid as to think I'd let him go?

"Well when can I go near her again?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Demon's breathe stays for as long as it pleases."

"How do you know there's demon's breathe there now?"

"I can smell it." He gave me another blank expression. I sighed, "I'm dead. I have certain abilities, one of them is to be able to smell demon's breathe. It's a hard smell to mix with something else. It's worse than death." I stuck my tongue out. Man that stuff smelled.

"You're dead?" He stepped back.

Of course that's all he heard. Why am I surprised? "Yes. I've been dead for almost 700 years."

"Wha-"

"I don't have time to give you my life story." I know I'm being mean, but we had bigger problems. Syd needed to wake up soon so we could find the gate and get her unShadowed. I'll be nice to him once this whole thing is over. If it ever ends.

"Well what do we do now?"

"There's no sense in moving on. Syd's unconscious and it'll be dark soon. Trust me, you don't want to be walking around then." I turned and sat down next to a pile of bones. Cody just stood there, staring. "What?"

"That's it? We just have to wait?"

"For now."

Cody sighed and sat down a few feet away from me. He looked at Sydney with sad eyes. I felt bad about being so mean to him, but it had to be done. I stand by my opinions. I sniffed the air. I couldn't tell if there was any demon's breathe left or not, but I guess it's safe.

"You can go near her now. The demon's breathe is gone."

Cody looked up. He walked over to Sydney, picked her up and laid her down in between us, her head on his lap. I sighed. He was really sweet to her. I looked up at the sky, it was fading from its blood red to black. Nighttime in The Land of the Dead, should be interesting.


	5. Comforts

**5. Comforts**

Kairi POV

I heard mumbling. Was Syd finally up? I sat up and looked over at her. Nope. I could of sworn I heard her talking. I heard her voice again. She talked in her sleep? Weird. I tried shaking her awake. Nothing. I shook harder. Still nothing. She just moaned louder and tried kicking out at me. I flinched as her fist missed my face by an inch. Well, if I couldn't wake her up, maybe Cody could. I shook him awake.

His eyes slowly opened, "What is it?"

"Get Syd to shut up." I pointed to Syd, who had continued to talk in her sleep and roll around. "She looks like she's having a nightmare."

"So?"

I stared at him? This wasn't Cody. "What do you mean, 'so'?"

"Syd has nightmares all the time it comes with the Goddess job title. It's impossible to wake her up from them."

"Well, how come she didn't wake you up? I can barely sleep over there."

"I don't know. Guess I'm just used to it."

"How often do you sleep with her?" I listened to myself speak and corrected myself, "Never mind. Don't answer that."

Cody smirked at me and slid over to Syd. He wrapped his arms around her and started to rub the small off her back. He seemed to be doing it subconsciously. Syd immediately relaxed, though she still mumbled incoherent things. I didn't really know how to react to that. So I just shrugged and fell back down to get some sleep. 'Course, that didn't last long.

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Sydney POV

I jerked awake and screamed. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and immediately tried to jerk away. No way was I letting those, things touch me. The arms pulled me back. No! I pulled away. The arms grabbed me again and dragged me back. I kept struggling.

"Shh… baby, it's just me. Open your eyes."

I froze. Should I? Was I still surrounded by darkness? I peeked one eye open. No, everything was dark, but not like before. Maybe it was just a dream? I looked to see who had spoken. Cody. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. I knew he'd come.

He hugged me back. "It's okay."

Of course it was, the darkness was gone and we were together. Nothing could ruin this.

"Syd! You're up!"

Except that. I looked over at Kairi. She was sitting a foot away, smiling. I looked around me. Nope, it definitely was not a dream. We were surrounded by bones and the smell of death.

I sat up and leaned into Cody and he put his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, what of it?"

Kairi blinked. "Are you still mad?"

"No. Why should I be?"

"I'm sorry Syd, it needed to be done."

"Why?"

"Because… I can't tell you right now. I will later though, I promise, and I never break a promise."

I looked at Cody. He shrugged, but I had a feeling he knew what was going on. Great, now Kairi's got him keeping secrets from me. I guess if he knew the reason for it, and Kairi was still alive, well whatever she is, it had to be ok. "Alright, fine." I crossed my arms. "But you owe me a lot of answers."

Kairi nodded. "Deal."

"So, what happened?" Cody looked at me, concerned. I smiled. He had the best eyes. Dark brown like chocolate, but somehow there was also lighter brown swirls mixed in. My smile faltered when I realized what he had asked me. I really didn't want to think about it too much. Cody took the hint and acted like he didn't even ask the question. Kairi, however, did not.

"Well?"

I twisted my head to look at her. "Kairi, I-"

"Just tell me what you did to make a demon mad."

"Make a demon mad? What are you talking about?"

"The thing that happened to you was demon's breathe. You must've done something to make a demon mad, so it released a toxin that was supposed to kill you, but the Shadow fought it off. I even saw it swirling around you when you were having that panic attack."

"The Shadow…" I paused. "Is it like a dark fog?" I looked up at her.

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know, most people never see the Shadow. I've only heard rumors. I suppose it could." She leaned forward. "Did you see it?"

"I think, maybe."

"Well, don't think about that part. I just need to know what you did to make a demon mad. Some of them work for Death and if you made one of his mad, you're in trouble."

I thought about it. What did I do? Every time I tried to think about it, I just kept picturing the Shadow. I took a deep breathe and closed my eyes. "Well, I was really pissed at you, so I was walking really fast. Then, I just stopped and kicked a rock. It went flying off into the-" I waved my hand at the darkness filled with souls and spirits surrounding us, "whatever that stuff is."

"Wait, did you say you stopped?"

"Yeah."

Kairi jumped up, more excited than usual. "We must be here then!"

"Here, where?"

"The gate to the Spirit Realm."

I looked at Cody. Was it really that simple? We'd only been here a few hours and we'd already found the gate?

Cody looked at Kairi, who was running around looking for something, "So, we just go through the gate, and we're done? No more?"

"Not exactly. We have to find Death, not to mention the Spirit Realm is crazy dangerous."

I sighed. I was tired. "Great. You can tell us all about it tomorrow. I need some sleep." I rested my head on Cody's chest. "So, good night."

"Where did you kick the rock? You may have hit it towards the gate."

"Night, Kairi..."


	6. Answers

**6. Answers**

As soon as Kairi got up, she immediately started to look for the gate.

"Just tell me where you kicked the rock."

"Not until we get some answers."

Kairi sighed and sat down. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Who are you?"  
"I'm Kairi. Didn't you know that?"

"No, not your name. I mean, what's your life story?"

"Well, I grew up in Ischia, Italy. It's a beautiful little isle. I never really knew my mother. She left when I was only a few months old, and my dad never liked to talk about it much. He eventually remarried however. He married a girl named Sarah and they had a son together, Marco. I didn't like Sarah, and Marco was such a brat, but I was stuck with them, until I died at least."

"How are you here if you're dead?"

"I died when I was eleven years old because of the Black Plague. I was the first person to die from it, so Death brought me back."

"Why?"

"Death is a very proud, not to mention, very short tempered, man. He takes all the people who die of certain things first and brings them back to life, sorta. We don't look the same, and we'll forever be in his debt. And when I say forever, I mean forever. We'll never die again. We've all kind of been dubbed as Returners."

"How many of you are there?"

"Gosh, I don't know. I've never really done the math. There are bunches of us though! I've never met all of us, but I know tons!"

"K. What exactly is the Shadow?"

"The Shadow is one of Death's creations. Course, it kinda got out of control and now the Shadow is evil at its greatest. Or worst, depending on how you take it I guess. It's what possesses a Reverser. Which is what you are, Syd."

"So, a Reverser is basically just someone who is Shadowed then?"

"Yup! You guys are the ones who die before they're supposed to. More common then you think. Reapers should really check their lists more often, 'cause this taking care of you guys is hard work. We have to help you get back to life. And because the Shadow is so evil, it has a tendency to rub off on you. You guys always have short tempers, like really short."

"How did you die?" Cody looked at Sydney.

"It's a long story." She replied.

"Not really. You died saving Joe's life."

"Who?" Cody asked the same time Sydney shouted, "Kairi!"

"Well it's true." She looked at Cody. "Joe's a friend of ours. He and Syd had to do this prophecy thing together. We're still not even sure if the prophecy is finished because some lines just seem like they haven't come true yet. He was there when the Shadow completely possessed Syd. He was a great help in getting her to calm down. He was also the only one who managed to get her to do what the doctors said."

"How do we get threw the gate?" Sydney spoke, changing the subject.

"We just walk though it, but no matter what you do, don't stop. The gate is cold and you might see some stuff, just keep going and don't look back. Course, we have to know where the gate is first." She stared at Sydney and crossed her arms, never loosing her perky smile, which gave the whole thing a creepy effect.

Sydney sighed. "I think it went over there." She pointed to her right. "Into that dark stuff."

Kairi got up and walked over to where she pointed. "I don't see anything. Gates can be hard to find though. Sometimes they're visible, sometimes they're not."

"Let me see." Sydney stood up and walked over, her long brown hair swaying behind her. "This is where I kicked it, and if you're so sure that means this is where it is, then it must be here." Sydney reached forward. A huge spark of black exploded from her hand. The girls screamed and jumped back. A vortex of black floated in front of them. It looked impossibly deep. Sydney could feel something pulling her towards it.

"I think we found the gate."

Cody walked over and stared. "So we just walk through?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Kairi replied.

"Let's go then, this Shadow thing is literally pushing me toward it." Sydney couldn't take her eyes off of the floating swirl of darkness in front of them.

"The Spirit Land is where the Shadow was made. It must really wanna go home."

"Yeah, and the more this thing controls me, the more Shadowed I get, right?" Kairi nodded, "Well, it's got a pretty strong hold, so let's go!"

"Right, sorry." Kairi took a deep breathe. "Here we go." They stepped into the gate and were thrown into a world of terror.

* * *

**So, into the Spirit Realm they go. BTW if you have any other questions about being Shadowed or dead, or whatever, let me know so I can put it in the Guide to the Dead. REVIEW!**


	7. Exit to Your Left

**7. Exit to Your Left**

They landed with a thud and immediately ran away from the gate.

"Please, tell me there is another way home because I am not going through that thing again!" Sydney exclaimed.

"Don't worry, once we find Death and get you unShadowed, he should be able to take us home. Without going through the gate again."

"Good. I think this Shadow thing actually enjoyed going through there."

"It shows." Kairi gestured to Sydney's hair. It was getting darker and longer as she spoke. "We better hurry and find Death. Once the Shadow completely takes over, there'll be no turning back. I don't think you'll be able to fight it this time either."

"Well, where is he?" Cody looked around.

"He doesn't always appear right away, he's very busy you see, so we kinda just have to wander around until he decides to show up."

"You can't be serious."

"Sorry."

Sydney sighed, "Alright, alright, let's get this over with."

"Well, you guys can stay here. I'll go look for Death to see if he's around."

"Good, because you know this whole time we've craving some alone time." Sydney smirked.

Kairi covered her ears, "Ew! I don't wanna know that!" She turned around and walked off.

Sydney laughed. "She's annoying, but you gotta love her." She turned back to Cody, who looked a little ticked. "What's wrong?"

* * *

Kairi came back about an hour later. It was already dark and Cody was asleep. Sydney looked up when Kairi walked over. She stood up, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her away from where they were resting. "Kairi, we need to talk."

"Can you let go? You're hurting me." Sydney released her wrist. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Why did you tell Cody about Joe?"

"He asked."

"Well now he's mad at me for not telling him about Joe!"

"Really? Why?"

"Because, he's upset that I was keeping secrets and he thinks there's more to the story then you let on. It doesn't help that he has a tendency to get really jealous about me and other guys."

"He's the jealous type?"

"Very. Most of the time, it's hot, but there are times…"

"What does he think went on?"

"He thinks Joe and I have a thing."

"Well, he's not wrong."

"Yes he is!"

"But Sydney, I got the full report of what happened. The reaper saw you guys kiss."

"I did it so he would stay put."

"Then why did you say I love you?"

Sydney stopped. "Because… I knew it would throw him off more."

"Oh, so the kiss wasn't good?"

"The kiss was perfect! You little-" Sydney looked at her. Kairi was grinning. "Oh, you're good."

"If you don't like him, why didn't you tell Cody about him?"

"Because I didn't think it was important enough to bring up. Look, there's nothing going on between Joe and me. We're good friends. And even if I did like him, I have Cody now, who I love."

"Alright, fine. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Convince him there's nothing going on."

"Okay, fine."

They walked back. Cody was still asleep. Sydney and Kairi sat down and soon joined him in slumber.

* * *

**So... I go back to school tomorrow, which limits my writing time. Sorry. REVIEW!**


	8. Meet Me

**8. Meet Me**

Sydney POV

I woke up to screaming. I shot up and looked around to see what was wrong. Kairi was jumping up and jump hugging and screaming with some girl. I rolled my eyes. Of course. I got up and walked over to them.

"Um, Kairi? You mind keeping it down?" Kairi stopped screaming and looked at me.

"Oh, sorry Sydney. This is Colette. She's one of best friends. She's a reaper. Remember those people I told you about? The ones that ferry souls to the other side? Yeah, She's one of those."

"Ah." I looked Colette up and down. She had the same features Kairi did. Black hair, red eyes, pale skin, it was hard to tell them apart. Colette wore her hair up in a high ponytail with her bangs covering the right side of her face. She had glasses on that made her red eyes seem like they were glowing.

"So what are you doing here?" Colette asked Kairi.

"Oh you know, got some Shadow business to deal with. You?"

"I honestly don't know. Death called me here just yesterday. Said he had some assignment for me, but he hasn't given it to me yet."

"Is Death here?"

"I haven't seen him. But I've been looking for him."

I felt Cody stand beside me. "Who's she?" He whispered so only I could hear him.

"Colette. Apparently she's a reaper or something like that," I whispered back.

Kairi and Colette continued to go on and on about pointless things without even noticing us standing there.

"Well, I have to go, but maybe we'll bump into each other again?"

"Definitely!"

Colette turned and, I kid you not, literally sank into the shadows, and was gone. I looked at Kairi, wide eyed. "How?"

"I told you, she's a reaper. They have certain abilities like that."

I sighed. This was just way too weird for me. "So what's on the schedule for today?"

Kairi shrugged. "Just walk around I guess. Gotta let Death know we're here somehow, right?"

"I guess."

We ended up just wondering for hours. Soon a day went by, then another, then another.

Kairi blabbered non stop the whole time. I noticed this was a pattern of hers. "Oh! We must be near The River of Life!"

"The River of Life?"

"Uh huh! It's really creepy looking," She paused and looked straight ahead. She smiled and skipped in front of us. We slowly came up behind her and stared at what she was looking at.

The black liquid drifted down the river. Wisps of smoke curled of the top. Faint cries of fear and mourning could be heard from its dark depths.

"This is The River of Life? Not exactly what I had in mind." I glanced back at Kairi. "You sure we're in the right place?"

Kairi nodded. "Yup. The River of Life, where souls go when they refuse to accept their final resting places. One of the most deadly spots here. One touch of it means certain death." She glimpsed at Cody as he snapped his hand back from the misty fog. "Even breathing too much of it in can do things to your mind. And certain people who are Shadowed shouldn't be staring into it like the screams and moans are a sweet lullaby." Kairi pulled me back and turned my head so I couldn't look at the river.

"What?" I blinked and paused to clear her head. I didn't hear a word she just said.

"It's the Shadow's birthplace. Stare at it for too long, you'll jump in, and for you it will result in things worse than death."

"Well, we've been walking for three days. When is Death going to show up?" I sighed.

"Whenever Death decides to appear." Kairi replied.

"Well Death better get here soon. I'm not a huge fan of this Shadow. The longer Death hides, the more I can feel this thing inside me."

"Hello, Kairi." A voice spoke.

They turned. Kairi froze.

"Another dead friend? How many are there?" Cody looked at Kairi. A little boy, around the age of seven probably, stood in front of them. He had black hair, red eyes, and pale skin like all the other dead kids seemed to have. His black hair was streaked with white. He was also covered in freckles.

"Do you all look the same? How do you tell each other apart?" I looked the boy up and down. He was so small. "He's kinda cute though. Hey kid."

"Uh, Sydney, he's not-"

"What? I'm not aloud to talk to your little friend?"

"No, it's just that-"

"Please, Kairi. Let her finish." His voice was unnaturally deep for his age.

"You have a weird way of talking kid."

"Sydney-"

"What?" I looked at Kairi. "You gonna introduce us?"

"Sydney, this is Death." Cody and I busted out laughing. No way she was serious. This had to be a joke.

"You're kidding me right? This is the almighty, scary Death?"

Kairi nodded, "Yeah, but you guys should stop laughing. He's very powerful."

"How? He's, what, seven, maybe?"

"I'm as old as your parents actually." They stopped and looked at him. "Kairi, thank you for bringing them here."

Kairi nodded, "Of course, sir."

I looked at her, "Sir? Kairi you can't honestly be scared of this little pip-squeak. You could easily kick his butt!"

"Sydney don't-"

"Obviously Kairi didn't brief you on how powerful I really am." Death interrupted.

"What was she going to say? He has the power of puppy-dog eyes?" Cody and I laughed again.

Death smirked. I froze. Oh god, not again. The darkness returned and began to suffocate me. I dropped to my knees, screaming. Cody stopped and dropped down beside me, trying to help, but to no avail. Kairi had a look of horror on her face.

"Death! Please! Don't hurt her!"

Death paused and looked at her. I instantly stopped screaming and glared at him. "What the hell?"

"The Shadow is my minion. I don't have much control over it, but there are some things I can make it do."

I rubbed my head and Cody helped me up. I leaned into him for support and he put his arm around my waist.

"Okay, I get it. You're powerful, now can you unShadow me so we can all go home?"

"But of course."

"Good."

"Now, as for payment…" Death slid his gaze over them.

"Payment?" I asked, "You didn't say anything about a payment."

"You never asked," he glided across to them, "Now," he clasped his small hands together, "a soul for a soul. Who shall die in your place?"

"What?" He didn't just say what I thought he did, did he?

"Death is the greatest equalizer, correct? So, it stands to reason that in order for your soul to be replaced, someone must die. But who?" he grinned maliciously, "Your journey is far from over," With that, he vanished.

* * *

**So, who will pay the price? REVIEW!**


	9. Anger Issues

**9. Anger Issues**

Sydney shook with anger. "What. The. Hell? We search all this time for him, and he just vanishes?"

"Syd, calm down. Remember the Shadow…"Kairi began.

"Screw the Shadow!" She glared at Kairi, "Did you know about this? Did you know someone was going to die in my place!"

Kairi frantically shook her head. "No! I swear. I've never heard of him use the soul exchange rate for someone who was Shadowed before. Usually that's just for people who want to live again and strike a deal with Death, and even then it's rare!" Kairi stepped back to a safe distance as she spoke.

"Syd-" Cody tried.

"Shut up!" She whirled to look at him, "I do _not_ want to talk to you right now! You're not going to help me at all, with your _stupid_ jealousy issues! Control yourself! I chose you, didn't I? No one else, just you. I've never even looked at another guy since we started dating, and yet you still go crazy every time some guy says hey to me!"

"Well excuse me for caring! And I'm the one who's crazy? Look at you! You look like you should have psychopath stamped on your forehead! Going mad over the littlest of things."

"Technically, it's the Shadow." Kairi spoke.

"Shut up!" Sydney and Cody screamed at her. Kairi shrank back.

"That's it! I am done with this! Urgh!" Sydney turned and stomped off. Her hair was near black and well past her waist. You could see the Shadow swirling around her.

"Same here!" Cody turned and marched off in the opposite direction.

"Um, guys? We should probably stay together." Kairi spoke so softly, neither person heard her. "Death might-" She stopped. "Oh forget it!" She sighed and quietly sat down. She took a deep breathe. Nothing ruined her happy mood, but this just might. They'd come back, once they calmed down. They had to.

* * *

Kairi was still sitting and waiting an hour later. She thought about the fight. No way that would've happened if Sydney wasn't Shadowed. She remembered how mad Sydney looked.

As in memory, so in life.

Kairi heard a giant crash to her left. She looked over. "What the-" She got up and headed towards the noise.

Sydney was punching and kicking anything in her sight. Kairi froze. She didn't know whether to speak or not. It was good she was releasing her anger, the Shadow would have less control once she was done. She heard Sydney mumble to herself, "Stupid, idiotic, asshole! Who does he think he is?" She kept mumbling and punching things.

Kairi sighed, but regretted it immediately. Sydney spun and glared at her. "What do you want?"

Kairi jumped back. "Nothing! I- I-" She looked around frantically as if an excuse to run away would fall from the sky.

"Can you believe him?" Sydney turned back to the pile of bones she was brutally attacking.

"Uh-"

"He's just so… urgh!" She punched a skull that shattered to pieces.

"I'm sure you two will make-up."

"What are talking about? You don't even like him!"

"Yeah I do."

"Oh don't play dumb. He told me about the way you've been acting towards him."

"Well, that's just cause-"

"You think Joe and I have a thing. You're just like him! There is nothing going on!" She was running out of things to break and Kairi was getting more and more nervous.

"Ok, ok, fine! I believe you! Just calm down please. You're scaring me!"

Sydney looked at her. "Why should I care? You mean nothing to me."

"Syd, you don't mean that. It's just the Shadow-"

"I don't want to hear anything more about the Shadow! You don't know me! How do you know I don't mean what I say or do?"

"Because you're good! You may act like you have an attitude and you're too cool for everything, but you really are good. I can tell. The Shadow would've taken over a long time ago if you weren't."

Sydney stared at her.

"She's right you know." The girls turned to see Cody walk up.

Sydney crossed her arms and glared. "What do you want?"

He returned her sneer. "I didn't intend to find you. I was wondering around, realized I didn't know a thing about this place, so I came back."

Kairi looked between the two. She was in an awkward position. "You two love each other."

They looked at her. "What?"

"You two love each other."

"Well thank you for stating the obvious. Now what of it?" Cody said. Sydney glanced at him as he spoke.

"Well, stop fighting then."

"It's not that easy-"

"Yes it is. You are in love. People who are in love get over their fights, work out their issues, and move on. This wouldn't even be happening if Sydney wasn't Shadowed."

"It's not all my fault."

"I know," Kairi looked at her, then at Cody, "It's yours too. I don't know if what Sydney said is true, but if you have jealousy issues, you gotta get over them. Sydney loves you, trust me, nothing's gonna happen. If some guy even tries to make a move on her, she'll kick his butt."

Cody and Sydney looked at each other.

"Look, you guys clearly have some talking to do. I'll just leave you alone for a bit. Who knows? Maybe I'll run into Colette again and we can talk some more." She turned, and walked away.

* * *

**So, next chapter you'll find out who's paying the due. REVIEW!**


	10. Payment Time

**10. Payment Time**

Kairi POV

I covered my eyes. Ew! I cleared my throat. I peaked to see if they heard. Nope. I cleared my throat louder. Still nothing. I took a deep breathe. "Eh hem!" Sydney and Cody jumped apart, blushing. I didn't care. I just didn't want to see them making out anymore.

"So, I guess that time alone did you some good."

They sheepishly nodded.

"Good. So now can we continue like normal people?"

Again, they nodded.

"Good." I sat down in front of them. "Sydney, I know you're upset about the whole someone must die thing, but, unfortunately, Death has called for one. He's never done this before, but I guess he changed his policies. Normally though, he picks some random person to replace you. So that should make you feel less worried."

"How? I'm supposed to be comforted that someone is going to die because of me?"

"At least it won't be someone you know and love."

Sydney looked at Cody, "I guess, but it's still wrong."

"Actually, I've already chosen who will replace you." We looked up and saw Death standing behind us.

"Who?"

"I can't tell you, that would ruin the surprise." He smirked. He was one creepy little kid.

"Well, ok then. UnShadow me."

"Not quite yet. The other person has to die first."

"What?" Sydney stood up, angry. Oh boy, here we go again.

"I'm sorry, that's how it works."

"UnShadow me now!"

"I don't think so." Death spoke solemnly.

Sydney smirked. "You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes, you are. That explains why you wouldn't show up for days and why you're trying to act so tough. Fear makes the dog bark, and you are one bitch."

Death glared at her. She probably shouldn't have said that. He closed his eyes and calmed down. "Very well then, but first I think you should see something." He quietly walked over to The River of Life.

We all looked at each other, then followed.

"What are we supposed to look at?" Cody asked. Carefully keeping his distance from the river.

"Well you're not going to see it from all the way over there. Come here."

Slowly and cautiously, we stepped forward.

"Seeing as Kairi failed to tell you how powerful I am, I see I must show you." The sky instantly turned black and silver lightning shot down from the sky. Thunder followed. The ground shook. "This is my land!" Death screamed over the thunder. "I control it! It listens to me!" We exchanged nervous glances. This wasn't going anywhere good. "You have no right to insult me here or anywhere!" He glared at us ad clenched his fists. "It's time for your payment."

We were all shaking with fear. Nobody had a look on their face like that and was sane.

Death smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this." I looked around, we had to get away, now. I saw some movement behind a pile a bones. What? I froze and turned back to Death. Please, god no.

With a powerful evil laugh, Death lunged forward, grabbed Cody, and threw him into the river. He didn't even have time to scream.

It took us two seconds to realize what had happened.

"Cody!" Sydney lunged forward about to dive in after him but I held her back. It was too late. I'd seen Colette lurking in the shadows. The prophecy had finally been completed. Cody was dead.

* * *

**I'm Jodney fans are glad. REVIEW!**


	11. Payback

**11. Payback**

Sydney shoved Kairi away and tackled Death.

"I'm going to kill you!" She punched him. "What is wrong with you?" She continued to attack him.

Kairi watched in horror as Sydney's hair turned black and grew so long, it pooled around her on the ground. The Shadow was clearly visible, haunting over her.

Sydney wrapped her hands around Deaths neck. "Bring him back!"

"I can't!" Death screamed, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

"Why not? You seem to do it a lot! Make him into whatever Kairi is, or one of those Reaper things. I don't care! Just bring him back!"

"It's too late!"

"Asshole! Douche bag! Jack ass!" With each word, Sydney found a new spot to hit him. "I will kill you!" Her eyes were solid black and she seemed to be glowing. "I will rip your still beating heart from your chest!" She held her palm back. A black orb of energy began to grow in her hand. "I think it's time for your payment."

"No!" Death screamed. He grabbed her head and mumbled to himself. Sydney tried to jerk away. A thick pulse sounded from Death's hands. Sydney's eyes turned completely white just as she let go off what was in her hand. It hit Death square in the chest. They both screamed. Sydney collapsed with a solid thud. Her hair slowly turning back to normal and the blackness around her disappeared.

Death pushed her off of him and glared at Kairi. "You…"

Kairi shook with fear and backed away.

"You're supposed to be my loyal servant! Owe me for life! And yet, when I get attacked, you do nothing! Absolutely nothing!" He tried to stand, but fell on his face. Whatever Sydney had hit him with was powerful.

"I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! Please!"

"Hurt you?" Death lifted his head. "You're lucky I don't torture you for eternity!" He shakily sat up. "I'm done. I have no more use for you." He looked at her and cocked his head to the right. A sharp pain shot threw Kairi's skull. She fell to her knees and screamed. Her eyes burned, her heart was pounding, her head felt like it was about to explode.

"Now you have a debt to pay." Death fell back and drifted off into nothing.

* * *

**So, what happened? REVIEW!**


	12. Don't Forget

**12. Don't Forget**

Sydney POV

_I smiled as Cody wrapped his arms around me._

"_I love you, baby." He spoke._

"_I love you too, don't ever leave me."_

"_I won't, I promise. I'll always be here for you when you need me. Just don't forget me."_

"_What are you talking about? Forget you? How could I do that?"_

_Cody gave me a sympathetic smile. "I love you so much." He kissed me gently on the forehead. "Don't ever change."_

"_Sydney…"_

"_Yes, Cody?"_

"_Sydney…"_

_I looked at Cody, his mouth was closed._

"_Sydney…"_

_What the…

* * *

_

Big brown eyes stared at me. "Cody?"

The person leaned back. No, not Cody. It was some girl. She had short white/blonde hair and pale skin.

"Who are you?" I tired to sit up, but the pain was too much.

"Um, it's me, Kairi. Death brought me back to life."

I was stunned. That left me with a lot of questions. "Kairi?" She nodded.

"How did we get back here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I just woke up here."

I looked around. "Where's Cody?"

Kairi frowned. "Don't do that Syd."

"Do what?" I looked at her.

"You know what happened. Don't pretend like it was a dream."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smiled.

"Sydney, please."

I frowned. She was wrong. I knew Cody would walk in any minute.

"Syd, are you gonna be ok?"

"Go talk to Nicole. She can get you someplace to stay." I got up and led her to the door.

"Syd-"

"I'm fine."

"But Sydney, it's ok to-"

"I said I'm fine!" I slammed the door in her face. I sat down on my bed. This is just a dream. I'll wake up soon and everything will be back to normal. Deep down, I knew I was wrong.

* * *

Kairi POV

I sighed. Poor Syd. This was a terrible way to cope. She couldn't just stay in denial about it forever. She would realize it soon. She had to.

I quietly walked down the hall looking for Nicole. I did need a place to stay. I didn't have anywhere to go. I don't even know why Death brought me back to life, and that scared me. He plans everything, from beginning to end.

I found Nicole in the room that I assumed was for meetings.

She looked up when I entered. "Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Kairi. It's sort of a long story, but I'm a friend of Sydney's."

"Sydney's back? How did the mission go?"

"Um, well, like I said, it's a long story."

"Nicole, John was-" A woman with short blonde hair and dark brown eyes walked up, but stopped when she noticed me. "Ha-" She shook her head. "John was looking for you."

Nicole nodded. "Very well then. Thank you, Kayla. Kairi, we'll have to talk more later." Nicole paced down the hallway. Kayla stayed and stared at me. Did I have something on my face?

"Um, hi." I weakly waved.

Kayla quickly walked away, mumbling to herself. What was that all about?

* * *

**So, Kairi is living and Syd is in denial. REVIEW!**


	13. The Breaking Point

**13. The Breaking Point**

Kairi POV

I visited Syd everyday for a week. She still was in denial. All she did was sleep. I was just glad she hadn't turned to alcohol or drugs, or even worse, suicide. Course, I never did check her wrists for cuts. Apparently no one else had seen her either, so that meant she had never even left her room. People tended to notice when the most popular couple at school went missing for weeks. I just didn't have the heart to tell any of them what had happened.

I had never gotten my living arrangements from Nicole, but I told her about Sydney being Shadowed and about what had happened back in New York. I had skipped some details. Nicole didn't need to know everything.

I walked up to Sydney's door and was almost too scared to enter. I quickly rapped on her door. No response, I panicked and knocked again. Still nothing. I tried the door, it was locked. I took a bobby pin out of my hair and began to pick her lock. I'd learned a lot of interesting things in my six-hundred sixty-nine years. The door silently clicked open and I slowly stepped inside. I looked around. I didn't see any dead bodies. I was almost afraid to smell the room just in case there was alcohol or weed somewhere, but I did and was glad it smelled like it had been. I looked at Sydney's bed and was surprised to see her sitting up and drawing in a sketchpad. Maybe she had finally accepted this.

"Hey."

She looked up at me and frowned. "What do you want?"

I sighed. She was still not dealing with this. "Just visiting." I sat down next to her. She was wearing a long sleeved jacket, so I didn't see her wrists. I glimpsed at her sketch. I shouldn't have been surprised that it was a picture of her and Cody together. I stared at her. That's it! This is going on for too long! She had to accept it sooner or later.

"His family's really worried about him you know."

"Who's?"

"You know who. Sydney, you've got to accept this."

She looked at me, "Accept what?"

I took a deep breathe. That was the last straw. I stood up, "Gosh darn it, Sydney! I'm tired of this! You know what happened in the Spirit Realm! Accept it! _Cody is dead_!" I looked at her. Her eyes glossed over as they filled with tears. Oh god, I didn't mean to do that.

She looked down and dropped her sketchpad. "I know."

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. I really didn't want her to start crying. It would probably make me start to cry too.

"I loved him. Even when we had that fight part of me wanted to run over and kiss him and never let go!" Sydney clenched her fists trying to hold back tears. "It sucks! I'll never see him again, I'll never kiss him again, I'll never hear him say 'I love you' again!" Tears slid down her cheeks. "He was perfect, he was amazing, he- he was mine!" She finally broke. Tears flooded her face. She buried her face into her pillow. I just sat there and comforted her. "It's my fault."

I stared at Sydney. What? "No it's not."

"Yes, it is!" She looked at me with blood shot eyes. "I should've tried harder to get him to stay, I shouldn't have ticked Death off, I- I- I could've saved him!"

"No, you couldn't have. Death plans everything out. No matter what you would have done, the result would be the same."

Sydney shook her head. "No."

"Yes."

"No!" She began to cry again.

I sighed. Grief consumes people. Death obsesses people. I'd never seen Sydney so upset before. It was weird seeing her cry. She was normally so tough, so brave, now she just looked… weak and unguarded. I didn't point this out to her for fear of ending up dead, permanently this time.

We stayed like that for hours. Sydney cried until she had no more tears left, even after she just lay there, lost. At one point, she got up and crossed the room to her dresser. I tentatively followed her. She picked up a small silver and gold music box. It was beautiful. How had I missed that? It was oval shaped with a picture of a woman on top. The picture was decorated with sapphires and rubies. Small pearls formed its frame. White rose patterns circled around the woman. Gold designs shaped like roses and swirls covered the silver metal on the sides. It caught perfectly in the light. Sydney gingerly opened the top. Soft, loving music floated into the room. I could almost feel the high chimes wrapping around me, entrancing me. Inside underneath the lid, which bent completely back, there were a man and a woman dancing, spinning in a paced circle. Sydney lifted a heart-shaped locket out from the box and snapped it shut. She dropped back down to her bed and stared at it for what seemed like forever. An S made of a diamonds was placed on the front. Sydney pushed down with her thumb and the locket popped open. Inside, I saw a photo of Sydney and Cody together. They were sitting with their legs intertwined and their noses touching each other, staring deeply into the other's eyes. They both looked so happy, oblivious to what was to come.

"He got that for you? Didn't he?"

Sydney flashed a half-second smile. "Yeah. We went to Exposition Universelle at Paris in 1900 on a date once. He had managed to sneak off and buy me these when I was distracted by a street act."

I let her stare at the locket in peace. I hated having to interrupt her. "You're going to have to tell his parents."

Sydney turned her head. "I can't. There's no way I'll be able to. Kairi, please."

I shook my head. "I don't even know them. It has to be you."

She sighed, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. "Okay."

"Wh-what?" Cody's mom looked at us with horror. "Please, tell me this is a joke." She looked around as if Cody was going to pop out saying "gotcha!".

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Michaels." Sydney looked down.

"He was so young. He- he…" Tears filled her eyes. "Oh god." She took a deep breathe, sat up, and brushed away the tears. "Well, Cody wouldn't want us moping around. We have to carry on." She looked at Sydney. "Where's the body? He needs a proper funeral."

Sydney looked away, tears in her eyes again. I spoke for her, "I'm afraid there is no body, Mrs. Michaels."

She stared at me. "Very well then." She turned back to Sydney, barely holding back the tears. Sydney had kept hers in for too long to even try to hold them back. She grabbed her hands. "Sydney, would you mind helping me with the memorial?"

Sydney slowly nodded. "Of course."

I smiled. Maybe, she would move on.


	14. The Funeral

**14. The Funeral**

Every face was filled with sorrow. There was no coffin, just a simple picture on a simple stand. A few were crying. No one was more upset than Sydney or Cody's mom. Tears streaked their cheeks and they found it hard to even look at the picture of him. Kairi sat next to Sydney and comforted her whenever she needed it, which was constantly. Almost everyone went up and said a few words. Cody's mom was the last to go.

"Hello everyone. I'm so glad you could come today. I appreciate it and I know Cody would have too." She paused to take out a piece of paper as tears welled up in her eyes. "Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear. Cody lived his life the best way he could. He never had enemies nor did he step on anyone. Cody was well loved and I guess seeing everyone here right now, having this big a crowd on his funeral only proves that indeed Cody was and is well loved. How could he not be? He was such a kind soul. The type of person you can't get enough of. Well, at least I think of him that way. He is my son, correct? If I could go back to any moment with him, it would be the day he was born. His father was alive and well and we were happy, not a care in the world. There's so many memories I have with him, too many to count. I'll miss him, that's for sure, and I know I'm not the only one who will," she glanced at Sydney who was smiling, but still crying, "And I know that if love could've saved him, he'd live forever. His end was unexpected, true, but it is no one's fault that he is gone, just Death claiming another one for himself. Say hi to your father for me, I'm sure he'll be proud of you. I love you, son." She wiped away her tears and sat back down. Sydney squeezed her hand and they both smiled.

The funeral continued for a little longer and everyone said their final goodbyes and wished Cody's mom the best. She and Sydney received plenty of sympathetic smiles and hugs. The funeral finally ended about an hour later. The tears had all been shed and the goodbyes had all been said. Cody's picture was taken down and people slowly filed out. Cody's mom stared at the photo. Sydney silently stood next to her while Kairi patiently waited in a corner.

"He was a good boy. So much like his father really."

Sydney nodded. "He was the best boyfriend. I'll miss the way he looked at me the most." They smiled, lost in their memories.

* * *

**I seriously, almost cried when I wrote this. Don't know why, just did. And it's weird to post this on my birthday... Anyway review! (PS if you actually look at other peoples reviews and look at the ones I get, ignore the one that's from me. i was just trying sumtin out, turns out it works, but now it wont go away. so, ya, ignore that.)**


	15. Another Door Opens

**15. Another Door Opens**

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Kairi asked.

Sydney nodded. "I'll be fine. If I need to, I can always talk to his mom or visit his grave." She smiled to hide her sorrow.

Kairi smiled back. "Ok."

"You can stay here as long as you want to you know."

"Yeah? I think I might stay a little while longer then."

They were walking down the hall two days after the memorial service. Kayla walked down the hallway towards them. She didn't seem to notice them until she bumped into them. "Oh, sorry." She looked at Kairi.

"What? You know, ever since I met you, you've done nothing but stare at me."

"God, you even sound like her."

Sydney and Kairi looked at each other.

"Like who?"

"Someone I used to know. A little girl. It was a long time ago, but the resemblance you two share is remarkable."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kayla? Are you feeling ok? Should I get Nicole?"

Kayla looked at Sydney. "No, you don't have to. I'm just missing Novella."

"Who?" Sydney asked.

"My name was Novella." Kairi stared at Kayla. "Death made me change it after I died. I'd change it back, but I'm just so fond of Kairi."

Kayla stared at Kairi, dumbfounded. "Novella? Is it really you?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Sydney looked back and forth between the two.

"I don't know, am I?"

Kayla smiled and hugged Kairi. "Oh! It's been so long! I haven't seen you since, well in almost seven hundred years!"

"What are you-" Kairi paused. "Mom?"

Kayla nodded, her eyes shining. "Oh, Novella! I've missed you! I thought you passed away years ago, but you've been alive this whole time!"

"So, wait, Kairi's my cousin?" Sydney looked at Kayla, who nodded.

Kairi smiled. "Mom! I thought you ran away from Daddy and I."

Kayla shook her head, "No, I wanted to stay, I really did, but I had to come back to Draylon."

They hugged again. Sydney quietly stayed back and watched.

"Well, now I guess I have to stay."

Kayla frowned. "No, you can't. I'm sorry, really, but no one here knows you're my daughter, and if they found out-" She paused and looked at Kairi. "We'd both be in a lot of trouble."

Kairi frowned. "Oh, but I just met you. I can't leave now."

"You can stay for a little while, and we can catch up, but eventually you'll have to move somewhere new."

"But I don't have anyplace to go. Nicole never gave me anyplace to live."

"Yes, well, I'm sure we'll work something out."

Kairi smiled and looked at Sydney. "Syd! We can be like sisters now!"

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Great." Kairi hugged her and Sydney smiled. With every end comes a new beginning.


End file.
